A Price Index for Canada, 1688 to 1850

37 Pages Posted: 8 Dec 2016

See all articles by Vincent Geloso

Vincent Geloso

George Mason University - Department of Economics

Date Written: December 6, 2016

Abstract

I construct the first price index for any region of Canada that spans from the colonial era to the mid-nineteenth century. I use prices collected from the account books of religious congregations with estates throughout the modern-day province of Quebec. The consistency of the type of price quotations in the source material, the high frequency of observations for many goods, the vast number of goods and the inclusion of numerous non-agricultural and non-food goods represent a substantial improvement over previous indexes. Price trends are mildly different from those of existing, but less comprehensive, price indexes. This new index is used to link up with indexes post-1850 in order to create a 328 years-long price index for Canada.

Keywords: Canadian economic history, price history, price index

JEL Classification: N11, O51, E31

Suggested Citation

Geloso, Vincent, A Price Index for Canada, 1688 to 1850 (December 6, 2016). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2881432 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2881432

Vincent Geloso (Contact Author)

George Mason University - Department of Economics ( email )

4400 University Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030
United States

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